A small shop packed with books, magazines and good coffee sounds like heaven to us. It’s the ideal formula. And it’s one that Slovakia’s Alexis Books and Coffee Bar have nailed perfectly. Creatively offering more than your typical big box retailer, Alexis matches substance with ingenuity. Enormous book shelves line the walls brimming with a range of titles. While their amphitheater style flooring and low level coffee tables provide visitors with a place to sit anywhere. The shop also doubles as a great location for talks, community panels and readings. We’d love to see more places like this pop up state side. Click Read More for additional information and photos.

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For this week’s edition of Audio Visual we’re spotlighting the work of Maurici Mayol. The acclaimed photographer spent a few months in Barcelona and created a beautiful time-lapse capturing the city’s architecture, people, transit systems and more. Shot completely with a Canon 400D and a variety of lenses, Mayol’s work inspires you to visit Spain’s beloved city. Click Read More to view the video.

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We have a serious coffee addiction. We’ll travel anywhere, no matter how far, to experience delicious coffee and espresso. So when we heard about Tokyo’s Bear Pond Espresso we were elated. After 18 years of being a certified barista in New York, Katsu enlisted the help of his wife Chisa to open Bear Pond in 2009. Housed in a small unassuming building, Bear Pond is all about serving the best coffee and espresso possible. There’s a skillful artistry to growing coffee beans, roasting them and ultimately preparing the drink that is thoughtfully planned and perfectly executed by the owners. To ensure consistent taste, Bear Pond not only works closely with roaster Noriaki Yoshime, but the espresso is only made by Katsu – no one else – and is served only during the hours of 10am to 2pm. Bear Pond’s espresso has a distinctive taste with a hint of chocolate, spice and salt that is raved about by many. Not for the faint at heart, the taste is bold and hits you like a ton of bricks. Click Read More for additional information and photos.

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Mike Matas is a user interface designer and cofounder of Push Pop Press – the digital publishing company that worked with Al Gore to create the first full-length interactive book Our Choice. You might have seen his work profiled on sites like Cool Hunting. And late last year, he and his girlfriend traveled through Japan visiting Kyoto, Nara, Hakone and finally Tokyo. Along the way they snapped more than 4,000 photos and created an amazing stop motion video of the trip. Each moment is beautifully relayed in this entertaining and inspiring video. Click Read More to view.

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Four friends scattered across the globe come together to form a creative agency focused on beautiful and inspiring design – Kinfolk Studios is born. Known mostly for their award winning bicycle company and excellent client-work with brands like Nike, they’ve entered the field with resounding success. Their latest venture is no different. Kinfolk Brooklyn is an event space and venue that takes on many roles for the city’s creative community. Part café, part bar and part gallery, Kinfolk Brooklyn is a fantastic spot to relax with friends, see art and enjoy a great cup of coffee. If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by. We have a few images posted below. Click Read More for additional information.

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Maison Moschino is imaginative and quirky. A converted railway station from the mid-1800’s, the Italian hotel is ideal for those with an affinity for children’s tales and a kid-at-heart spirit. Far from the understated accommodations that seem to always grab our eye, Maison Moschino incorporates a fairytale theme throughout the individually styled 65-room dwelling.

Rooms run the gamut of being over the top eccentric, while others have a more subdued aesthetic. If you’re in the mood to experience a fairytale, then stay in the Little Red Riding Hood room where you’ll be greeted by an oversized flowered growling wolf in the bed. For those wanting something more soothing to ease you into a restful sleep, the Clouds room is all white and decorated with hanging clouds and a giant sheep by your bed. Maison Moschino has a little something for the imaginative side in all of us. Click Read More for additional information.

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Jakob Wagner is a talented photographer from Dusseldorf, Germany who enjoys traveling all over the world. Through his work he’s been to Buenos Aires, New York, Rotterdam and London shooting beautiful images. However, it’s his shots of Cape Town South Africa that resonate with us most. They remind us that cityscapes are a lot like finger prints. In this case, Cape Town’s light-grids bumping up against the region’s wild topography provide a unique insight into the area. It demonstrates the city’s beauty in a way we have yet to see. Click Read More to view more images of Cape Town at night.

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